The Compendium: An Assembly of Fascinating Things

When Elizabeth Smart is taken from her Salt Lake City bedroom, the search fractures under pressure, publicity, and false certainty. The case culminates in Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee facing justice, and Elizabeth reclaiming her voice in the aftermath.

A chilling exploration of the Hillside Stranglers case, detailing how Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono terrorised Los Angeles, how police finally linked their crimes, and the bizarre Veronica Compton copycat plot that almost derailed the investigation.

A four-year-old vanishes in Louisiana and reappears under suspiciously perfect circumstances, sparking a century-long battle over identity and truth. This episode unravels the contradictions, contested claims, and DNA twist that rewrote the case.

Inside a troubled neonatal unit, unexplained collapses ignite one of the NHS’s most divisive criminal investigations. We examine the medical evidence, the allegations of negligence, and the controversy that still surrounds the Lucy Letby case.

Two rival palaeontologists wage a reckless scientific arms race that transforms dinosaur history. This episode reveals how sabotage, obsession, and discovery collided in the infamous Bone Wars.